LOGANBERRY 



MAHDI 



291 



variety of bramble, that makes the loganberry 

 the most valuable pomological introduction of 

 the present generation. The fruit of the 

 loganberry is prized for the fresh-fruit mar- 

 ket, being enticing in appearance and pleasing 

 in flavor; it is handsome and delectable as 



255. Loganberry. 



processed in the canneries, therefore finds 

 favor with canners; well ripened, the crop 

 gives a large proportion of the dried product 

 to the fresh fruit, so that it is in demand for 

 evaporation; lastly, the fruit makes a delicious 

 non-alcoholic beverage, for which purpose it 

 is now more used than tor the other products. 

 So far, the loganberry is successfully grown 

 only in parts of California, Oregon and Wash- 

 ington where the temperature does not reach 

 zero. The plants do not yield gracefully to the 

 climates and soils of the regions east of the 

 states named, succumbing to cold in the North 

 and proving almost barren in the South. The 

 largest centers of production at present are 

 Sebastopol, California, and the great Willamette 

 Valley of Oregon. Variously called a black- 

 berry, a dewberry and a hybrid between the 

 western dewberry and a red raspberry, the 

 loganberry, by reason of its trailing canes, and 

 habit of rooting at the tips, is probably best 

 classified with the dewberries, it being, as most 

 authorities now agree, a red-fruited variety of 

 the western dewberry, R. vitifolius. The 

 original plant was discovered by Judge J. H. 

 Logan, Santa Cruz, California, in 1881, and 

 was considered a hybrid between the Aughin- 

 baugh dewberry and a red raspberry, a theory 



untenable in light of recent investigations. 

 Plant and fruit are sufficiently well described in 

 the description of R. vitifolius, page 274. 



LUCRETIA. Fig. 256. Lucretia, which 

 made its way slowly into popular favor, is now 

 the best known and the most widely grown 

 of all dewberries. It has attained this high 

 place because endowed with a constitution 

 fitting it for a great diversity of soils, and for 



256. Lucretia. (X%) 



a range in latitude from the coldest to the 

 warmest in which dewberries can be grown. 

 The plants have the faults of being susceptible 

 to anthracnose, and of producing many double 

 blossoms with resultant sterility. The quality 

 of the fruit, while not the best, is good, but 

 the large jet-black berries are more inviting in 

 appearance than in taste. The original plant 

 was discovered in West Virginia soon after the 

 Civil War, but the variety was introduced 

 from Ohio about 1876. 



Plants vigorous, trailing, productive, half-hardy, re- 

 quiring winter protection ; canes slender, long, numer- 

 ous, round, greenish-brown, 



k with strong, rather blunt 



prickles. Leaflets 3-5, some- 

 times 7, oval, variable in 

 shape, pubescent above and 

 beneath, coarsely serrate. 

 Flowers nearly 2 inches in 

 diameter, 3-5, in short, 

 open, leafy, prickly co- 

 rymbs. Fruit early mid- 

 season, large, cylindrical, 

 tapering slightly, jet black ; 

 core long, conical, soft ; 

 drupelets large, round ; 

 flesh firm, juicy, sweet, 

 rich ; quality good ; seeds 

 large, soft. 



MAHDI. Fig. 257. 

 Like the laxtonberry, 

 Mahdi is a cross be- 

 tween the loganberry 

 and a raspberry. It is 

 still on probation, al- 

 though the consensus 



257. Mahdi. 



